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JANUARY 4, 2008 - HANFORD, CA --- In 2005, Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) formed a 360 non-wing division with a goal of providing young talent with a forum to develop and hone their skills, and to provide a venue for ALL Sprint car drivers to feed their insatiable appetite for racing.
During the past three years, we presented 44 events, paid over $277,000 in prize money and distributed $60,000 in point fund monies and accessory prizes at our banquets. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and feel that we definitely met our goals.
With the 2008 season on the horizon, it became obvious that Hanford's (CA) Kings Speedway would no longer serve as our home track when, on November 10th, they announced on their public address system, and at their pit meeting, they would host 11 “Bandit” series Sprint car shows in ’08.
We immediately contacted and secured seven shows at nearby Bakersfield Speedway, a foundation from which to build upon for the season. Those dates were posted on our website message board on November 27. We kept the door open for events at Kings and had two personal meetings with promoter Frank Dias, including December 5th, attempting to secure six dates.
Conversations were also held with Thunderbowl Raceway for one or two shows, and a lunch meeting was held in early December with Chuck Griffin, promoter at Merced and Chowchilla Speedways, negotiating for back-to-back shows at the two facilities. Once all dates were secured, we planned on contacting Victorville Speedway for possible dates. If successful in our efforts, we would have announced a schedule of approximately 16 to 18 shows.
On Wednesday, December 12th, we received an E-mail from Bakersfield canceling the shows previously obtained. Apparently, Bakersfield has aligned itself with Kings and Santa Maria Speedways to run a single series. We never heard back from Kings, but don’t expect to now in light of their new arrangement with the other facilities.
Therefore, with great sadness, we have decided not to field a series in 2008. It is impossible to retain our generous sponsors with only three or four shows to offer, and feel it is not in the best interest for our loyal drivers to be forced to choose between competing organizations, especially when the other series will host upwards of 30 shows. We will however, evaluate 2009 as a possible return to action based on results and developments during the upcoming year.
We wish the drivers and owners the very best as they continue their involvement in racing, and offer our thanks to them for their past participation and loyalty.
It was fun having them participate with us.
Sincerely,
Richard Harvey
Director, SCRA
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